South Africa recorded a trade surplus of ZAR 20.3 billion in July 2025, down slightly from a revised ZAR 21 billion in the prior month. Imports jumped by 10.2% over a month to ZAR 164 billion, driven by strong purchases of mineral products (+34%), chemicals (+23%), textiles (+24%) and machinery & electronics (+8%). Meanwhile, exports rose by 8.5% to ZAR 184 billion, with notable increases in shipments of base metals (+21%), vegetable products (+16%), machinery & electronics (+16%) and mineral products (+7%).